


Like Home.

by Esther_Summerson



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, F/M, Fluff, Making Up, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, but he tries, steve rogers is an idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-15 05:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7210451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esther_Summerson/pseuds/Esther_Summerson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do when the man you love wants to leave you?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Do you honestly think that I wanted to fall in love with a man who risks his life on a weekly basis to save the planet?!" She yelled, the tears were still streaming down her face and there was a hitch in her voice that was impeding the volume of her yells but in no way lessened the feeling behind them. "Steve you are a bloody super hero, whether I'm fighting by your side or not it doesn't matter I still worry about you! And yet here you are telling me that it's over, that it's not safe for us to be together. What the hell?!"  
Steve looked over at his girlfriend, standing on the other side of the locker room. Her blue eyes were flashing with the heat of the anger caused by his earlier statement, her chest heaving as she tried to recapture the oxygen expended by her outburst.  
"Doll, it's just that I don't want to be the one to hurt you if one day I don't come back. I can't be the one to break your heart." He replied, trying to keep his voice level and cool in the face of his overwhelming passion. "I just think it would be better if...."  
"If what? If I hadn't fallen in love with you? if we had never been friends? If we had never met?" She huffed out, her tone betraying her, revealing the level of pain underlying the anger. "It's too late for all that Steve, I can't change the way I feel." She looked down at the floor, shaking her head as she tried to dislodge the tears that were refusing to stop falling.  
Steve walked towards her with his arms outstretched, going as if to pull her in to a hug, as if he could erase the hurt that his words had caused with one simple embrace. She looked up at him then, eyes full of pain, and taking a step back, raised one hand to keep him at bay. Knowing as she did that he wouldn't touch her if she didn't want to be touched.  
"No Steve, I need you to listen to me and then give me some time ok?" She asked tearfully, waiting for his responding nod before continuing. "I can't think of a time when I won't love you Steve. You are the kindest, sweetest most passionate man I have ever known. You know, I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night, disoriented, confused as to where I am and then I feel your warmth at my back, or at my side, I can feel your heartbeat and the huff of your breath against my skin and it grounds me, you are my anchor and my home." She drops her hand then, wraps both arms around her waist as though trying to hold herself together. "But if you don't feel the same way, if this so called need to protect me outweighs the need to love me, then I guess you're right we should just call it quits now. But you know what, if I lost you tomorrow I wouldn't give up one second of our time together. If I was given the choice, to love you , knowing that I would lose you, it would change nothing for me. I would rather love you, knowing full well that it couldn't last forever, than continue on with my life as it was before, before I knew what it felt like to be loved like this."  
"Sweetheart please, I'm sorry, I didn't think."  
"Perhaps you didn't, but it's too late now Stevie, the words have been spoken and no matter how much we might wish it they can never be unsaid." Her smile was sad as she moved over to the locker room door, pushing it open she paused to finish what she was saying. "So you need to take some time, think about whether this is something that you really want. If I am what you really want. And be sure, because I can't go through another conversation like this again." And with that she left the locker room, pushing her way past Clint and Tony as she went. Not knowing if they had stopped to listen in, or if they had paused where they couldn't hear the words being spoken just the hurt and angry tone which they were uttered in she didn't care. She had to get away, had to find someplace where she could safely fall apart without the world bearing witness to her pain. Stepping in to the elevator she knew there was only one place she could go.

"Steve what the hell just happened? She looked like her world had fallen apart, what did you do?" Clint demanded slamming through the locker room door, he was quickly stopped in his tracks. Steve was slumped down onto a bench, head in his hands. "Steve are you ok?"  
"Something really stupid, I did something really stupid. God I am such an idiot what the hell was I thinking?!" Steve's voice was slightly muffled, coming as it was from under his palms.  
"Hey now, knowing you buddy you were trying to do the right thing. It just appears to have not turned out as you wanted it to." Clint said, sitting down next to him and resting a hand on Steve's broad shoulder.  
"That's an understatement," Tony snorted from his position just inside the door. Clint threw him a 'what the hell man' look which Tony promptly ignored and ploughed on. "What did you do Steve? Break up with her to protect her?"  
Steve's look was half fear, half embarrassment as he looked up at the man of iron. Tony face palmed and heaved a long suffering sigh. "Steve, you're right, you are an idiot my friend. So good with the battle plans, so bad with the ladies, how does that even happen?" He asked the room at large. "So you got it into your head that she would be better off without you, safer yadda yadda am I right?"  
Steve nodded blankly.  
"What you need to remember is that she's a grown ass woman Steve. She knows the risks that come with our choice of career, and she has decided to be with you anyway. Because of the man that you are she loves you. Pushing her away will only make the both of you unhappy." Tony replied, his voice softening and taking on a more serious tone. "Not to mention that loving her and choosing to be apart from her will make me seriously doubt your abilities as a leader. You do love her right?"  
"Of course I do, what the hell kind of question is that?" Steve snapped back.  
"A question I'm entitled to ask as I saw the after effects of your little shouting match on your girl Cap." Tony replied sternly. Steve's face fell at the rebuke. "I'm guessing there's still time for you to fix this, she's not the kind to give up without giving you a chance to come back."  
"Yeah, she told me to take some time to figure out if I still wanted to be with her."  
"And?" Clint asked, his tone laced with the same kind of encouragement as though talking to Cooper or Lila.  
"I don't need time," Steve said rising to his feet. "I know I want to be with her, she is my everything. I need to find her and make sure she knows it too." He made his way over to the door, resting one hand there he turned to look at his fellow Avengers. "Thanks guys, I needed this."  
"No worries Cap, now go get her before she has chance to change her mind about you." Tony replied giving him a push out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

He found her exactly where he expected to, swimming laps in the pool. There was no hiding away, no tears, no wallowing in the pain that threatened her very sanity. Oh no, that would come later. Now was the time for action. Steve watched as she propelled herself through the water, oblivious to her surroundings. Her entire focus on the movement of her limbs, of the flow of water against her skin. It took only a second for him to make the decision. Stripping down to his underwear he dived in, fought back the momentary burst of panic as he felt the water close in around him and fought to catch up with her.  
Aware of the presence of another in the pool, she reached the tiled edge and stopped. Wiping the water off her face she turned to identify the interloper, her heart singing and sinking in equal measure when she realised who it was. Leaning back against the tiles she waited for him to come to a stop, watching as he trod water before her (even Steve was out of his depth here). He just looked at her, saw the water caught in her eyebrows and eyelashes, noticed the way that she still shrank back from him as though expecting him to hit her with the final blow to their relationship at any moment.  
Tired of waiting for him to speak she broke the silence first. "Spit it out Steve, the waiting could prove fatal."  
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I should never have tried to break up with you, I love you so much." He replied in a rush.  
"What the hell Steve?!" She shouted, pushing away from the edge of the pool and into his arms causing them both to sink a little. Steve caught hold of her with one hand and propelled them back towards the edge of the pool. "Why did you do it?" she whispered.  
"I love you so much, that the thought of being the one to hurt you kills me inside. When you hurt, I hurt sweetheart." He replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck.  
She grabbed his hair at the back of his neck and tugged gently until he was facing her.  
"So to protect me from future hurt you decided it would be better to hurt me now?" Her brows furrowing in confusion. "You realise that's crazy right?"  
Steve blushed a most becoming pink when he realised just how stupid his actions had been.  
"I would do anything to protect you doll, even protecting you from me."  
"I meant what I said Stevie, you had better be sure that this is what you want because having this conversation with you again might just be the death of me."  
Steve lowered his face to hers, and waiting for her to close the gap, kissed her so sweetly, a gentle press of the lips which held a promise of more. "I want everything you are prepared to give me doll, and in return you have all of me. In fact even if you were to give me the push now, which is no less than I deserve, you would still have all of me."  
"Steve Rogers, you listen to me carefully now because I mean every word." She replied earnestly, waiting for his eyes to meet hers before continuing. "I love you, I'm pretty sure I have always loved you and will do everything I can to share the burdens and joys that this life throws at you. All I need in return is your love, your respect and your trust. Do you hear me?"  
He nodded once before she closed the gap and kissed him again, this one was passion, heat and not a little anger. Lips, tongues and teeth met, hands grasped and stroked, bodies clung and hips moved in an effort to get closer.  
They broke apart, both of them a little flustered.  
"I think we need to take this somewhere a little more private soldier." She said, catching her bottom lip in her teeth in a move that made Steve want to kiss it better. She wrapped her legs around his waist and ground down against the heat of him. "Hmm, you know you always wondered about make-up sex, and whether it was better than 'post-mission and we're both still alive' sex?"  
Steve nodded, his breath stolen by the closeness of the woman he loves. She leaned in to nibble on his earlobe before whispering. "Wanna go find out?"  
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than he had her lifted onto the side of the pool, grabbing the edge he pulled himself up and onto the cool tiled walkway before leaning down to lift her into his arms once again. As soon as she was up, her legs were around his narrow waist and her arms had wrapped themselves around his neck. Smiling down into his eyes as his arms caught her under her thighs and held her in place.  
"Don't we need to get dressed first Steve? I mean I know I have a swimming costume on but you're just in your undies!" She asked, smirking down at him.  
"No time for that doll," he replied bouncing her in his arms. "Gotta get my girl warmed up and in bed before she catches cold." And striding out of the pool area to call for the elevator, he held her close, as close as he could get her whilst they were still in public.  
"Thank you for forgiving me sweetheart, I don't know what I would do without you." She nipped at his neck with her teeth before leaning back in his arms.  
"Well let's just hope we neither of us have to find out. And anyway", she said pausing to nip and lick at his lips. "Who says you're forgiven soldier, you've a lot of work ahead of you to earn my forgiveness." Her smile turned slightly wicked. "But I think you'll enjoy making it up to me just as much as I will."  
"Yes ma'am. I love you sweetheart." Steve said, meeting her green gaze with his earnest one.  
"I love you too Steve, always have, always will. Now take me upstairs and make it up to me." She replied with a gentle smile.  
And you know what, he did. Three wonderful times.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for taking the time to read, I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
